Last weekend I encountered Cory Bernardi at the Bolt Report Christmas party.  He’s a nice bloke: affable, serious, patriotic: a bit like his doppelganger, Sam the American Eagle from The Muppet Show.  He’s the darling of many conservatives because he is intelligent and thoughtful, and there’s no doubt he’s sincere in his beliefs about his Trumpian brand of populist conservatism and its appeal to disaffected Middle Australia.